Potato-planter



(No Model.) 7

S. G. SCHOFIBLD.

POTATO PLANTER.

Patented Aug. 30,1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SILAS 'C. SCHOFIELD, OF FREEPORT, ILLINOIS.

POTATO-PLANTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 481,642, dated August 30, 1892.

Application filed October 26, 1891. Serial No. 409,768- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern-.-

Be it known that I, SILAs O. SCHOFIELD, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Freeport, in the county of Stephenson and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Potato- Planters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in potato-planters, and is fully described and explained in this specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a top plan of a complete planter embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal vertical section of the front part of the planter. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a complete planter, one of the wheels being removed to show the remaining parts more clearly. Fig. l is a front elevation of one of the hopper-braces by means of which the hopper is held in place upon the frame; and Fig. 5 is a horizontal section of the planting-tube and furrow-opener through the line w 00, Fig. 2.

In the views, A is an axle of any desired form.

B B are wheels mounted loosely on the axle and adjustable thereon by means of collars a a.

G is the planter-frame, preferably made up of two parallel timbers and supported at its front end upon the axle, and D is a coveringshoe resting on the ground and supporting the rear end of the frame 0 by means of two braces D',1ying on opposite sides of the frame and provided at their upper ends with a series of bolt-holes h, by means of which they may be adjustably bolted to the frame.

The shoe is preferably made up of two plates of metal lying side by side and inclined upward from their outer edges toward the center of the shoe, the two plates being fastened together by transverse bands d and the front end of the shoe being connected with the frame by means of oblique braces D so placed as to support the front end of the shoe and at the same time to resist the backward strain brought upon the shoe as it moves forward in the operation of the ma chine.

The front end of the frame maybe supported upon the axle in any desired practical manner; but I prefer to make the connection by means of devices substantially like those illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, in which A is a collar rigidly fastened to the center of the axle and provided with a boss or hub formed on its front face and supporting a vertical linchpin P, which is pivoted in blocks 0 C, fastened transversely upon the front ends of the two timbers of the frame. A collar 19, lying between the blocks 0 O, is adjustably fastened upon the pin P by means of a setscrew 3 and supports the front end of the frame. By adjusting the collar 19 upon the pin P the distance of the front end of the frame 0 above the ground may be regulated at will, and as the height of the rear end of the frame may be correspondingly adjusted by means of the bolt-holes h in the braces D it is evident that the frame 0 may be secured in a horizontal position at any desired distance above the ground within the limits of the work ing range of the machine.

Upon the frame 0 and near its front end is rigidly fastened a hopper E of ordinary form, having at its lower end a rearward opening into an approximately horizontal feedingspout F, whose rear end is closed by a wall which is a continuation of the side walls of the spout. Near the rear end of the spout there is formed in its bottom a suitable opening communicating with a planting-tube G, extending obliquely downward and forward and protected by a furrow-opener H, lying in front of the tube and projecting below it, the tube and the furrow-opener being preferably rigidly bolted together and of the general crosssection shown in Fig. 5. The opening in the bottom of the spout is preferably provided with a valve V, hinged at its rear end to the spout and adapted to cover the opening when in the position shown in Fig. 2 and to be swung backward to the position shown in Fig. 1, leaving the opening uncovered.

The hopper E may be secured upon the frame by any suitable means, but preferably by means of braces e, fastened to the hopper and to the frame 0 and extended below the frame to form lateral extensions 6', intended as stirrups or supports for the feet of an operator, an operators seat I being mounted upon the rear end of the frame and adj ustably secured thereto by means of transverse plates K K, lying above and below the timbers of the frame, and a bolt L, joining the plates and adapted to fasten them in any desired position on the frame.

In the use of the planter I have found it desirable to provide an annunciator for indicating the distance traveled by the machine, and for this purpose I have formed upon the hubs of the wheels B a series of ridges or projections 12 and have fastened to one of the collars a, fastened upon the axle at the inner ends of the hubs, a spring S, one of whose ends is secured in the collar, while the other end is free and rests upon the hub,the free end of the spring being adapted to spring from one of the ridges b to the next as the hub turns, thereby producing a series of sharp sounds at regular intervals in the rotation of the wheel and providing a gage to regulate the dropping of the seed in the operation of planting.

By means of the collars a a the distance between the wheels B maybe adjusted as desired and may be made a gage for regulating the distance between the furrows in which the potatoes are planted, it being only necessary for this-purpose, during the formation of each furrow, to run one wheel in the track formed by the other in the making of the last preceding furrow.

The axle may be provided with any suitable means for the attachment of a horse or horses; but I prefer to use for this purpose a vertically-swinging bail A such as is shown in Fig. 1, the rear ends of the bail being fastened to the axle by suitable clips, and the center of the bail, which is free to swing up and down, being made with a suitable bend to receive a hook or clevis.

The operation of this planter may be briefly described as follows: The hopper being provided with a suitable supply of seed and the operator being upon the seat, the planter is drawn forward, the furrow-opener H forming a furrow whose depth is regulated at will by adjusting the position of the frame 0 above place and is not in operation, or whenever for any reason it may be desired to cease planting-as, for instance, for the purpose of pro viding the hopper with a new supply of seed-- the opening from the feed-spout into the planting-tube may be closed by swingingthe valve V into the position illustrated in Fig. 2, whereby any accidental dropping of seed from the spout may be prevented.

frame above the axle, substantially as shown The shoe D, running immediately behind the planting-tube, draws the earth from the sides of the furrow to the center thereof and packs it over the seed, thereby completing the operation of planting. The efficiency of the covering-shoe is greatest when its two halves are slightly inclined downward from its central line in the manner set forth in the description of the shoe above.

Having now described and explained my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is+

1. In a potato-planter, the combination,with 8o amain frame, a hopper mounted thereon, and a suitable support for the rear end thereof, of an axle and suitable wheels and a vertically-adjustable swivel connecting the front of the frame with the axle, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination, with the frame 0, of the shoe D, supporting the rear end thereof, the axle A and wheels B B, the collar A, fastened upon the center of the axle, the vertical pin P, supported by the collar and swiveled in the front end of the frame, and the collar 19, vertically adjustable upon the pin P and regulating the distance of the front end of the 5 and described. 9

' being rendered vertically adjustable with reference to the shoe and the axle, substantially as shown and described.

4. The combination,with the frame and its supports, of the hopper E, supported upon the frame, the feeding-spout F, opening from the lower end of the hopper, the feeding-tube G, extending downward from a suitable opening in the feeding-spout, and the valve V, adapted to close said opening in the feeding-spout when desired, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination, with the frame and its supports, of the hopper, the feeding-spout opening therefrom, the planting-tube opening from the feeding-spout, the valve V, adapted to cover the opening from the feeding-spout to the planting-tube, and the adjustable seat I, mounted upon the frame, substantially as shown and described.

6. The combination, with the frame, the hopper, the feeding-spout, and the plantingtube, of the braces 6, connecting the hopper with the frame and provided at their lower ends with the lateral extensions e, and the adjustable seat I, mounted upon the frame, substantially as shown and described.

7. The combination, with the frame and the planting devices supported thereby, ofthe axle supporting the front of the frame, the Wheels mounted upon and supporting the axles and provided with hubs formed with ridges b, the collars aa', adj ustably fastened on the axle and holding the Wheels in place, and the spring S, having one of its ends clamped in one of the collars a, while its free end presses upon the hub and is adapted to spring from one ridge 1) to another as the wheel turns and serve as an annunciator for 10 indicating the progress of the planter, substantially as shown and described.

SILAS O. SOHOFIELD. Witnesses:

RoB'r. H. WILES, I. E. SCHOFIELD. 

